Saudi Arabia Strengthens Bond With China by Joining SCO Bloc as Dialogue Partner

China’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is growing as the country’s Cabinet has agreed to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The diplomatic move made by the kingdom began with a memorandum of understanding in September, and at the end of March,…

Latam Insights — Alliance Against Inflation, BTG Pactual Launches Stablecoin, and Argentina Debuts New Dollar

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue: Latin American nations ink an agreement to reduce inflation, Brazil-based BTG Pactual launches its own dollar-pegged…

Value Locked in Defi Holds the Line at $50B, After Temporarily Shedding $8B in Mid-March

The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) during the first week of April is about $50 billion, roughly the same as on March 1. The value locked dropped to $42 billion on March 12 but has since rebounded as…

Tax Benefits for Bitcoin Businesses in Belarus Extended Until 2025

Tax exemptions for companies and individuals legally working with cryptocurrencies in Belarus will remain in place until Jan. 1, 2025. A new presidential decree extends the tax cuts introduced in 2018 when the executive power in Minsk legalized crypto activities such…

Matt Damon Shares Story Behind His Crypto Commercial

Famous Hollywood actor Matt Damon has revealed the story of how he became involved in creating a cryptocurrency commercial called “Fortune Favors the Brave” with Crypto.com. After the release of the crypto ad, Damon faced global criticism for his involvement in…

‘Panic of 2023’: James Corbett Explains How Bank Crisis Could Lead to CBDC ‘Nightmare of Total Monetary Control’

Investigative journalist James Corbett has recently referred to the ongoing global banking crisis involving SVB, Signature Bank, Credit Suisse and others as the “Panic of 2023,” drawing comparisons to what he views as historical precedents, and pointing ahead to an inevitable…

FTX’s Bankman-Fried Is Allegedly Using Alameda Funds to Pay for Legal Defense

According to two sources close to FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder, gave his father, Stanford Law professor Joseph Bankman, millions of dollars. The funds are reportedly being used to pay for legal costs. The sources said that Bankman-Fried allegedly gave…

Law Firm’s White Paper Claims US Bank Regulators Are Waging a ‘Clandestine Financial War’ Against Crypto Businesses

According to a recent white paper published by four members of the law firm Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, U.S. bank regulators are attempting to “drive crypto businesses out of the financial system.” The paper, titled “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” claims that after…

Bitcoin Hashrate Reaches 400 Exahash per Second, Researcher Says Network Could Reach Zettahash Era by 2025

Despite Bitcoin’s difficulty reaching an all-time high at 46.84 trillion, participants in bitcoin mining have kept the hashrate running stronger than ever before. According to statistics, on March 23, 2023, the hashrate reached a high of 400 exahash per second (EH/s)….